Buying a house to renovate

James Ian

James Ian

James Ian

Associate
Joined
16 Aug 2019
Posts
3
I’m seriously considering buying a property to renovate and sell. I have no experience in this at all and don’t know where to start.

So far I’ve been researching online about mortgages and auctions and I’m going along to an auction next week just to get a feel for the process and hopefully meet a couple of people who do this.

I’m a qualified joiner so not new to the building aspect but completely out of my depth with everything else.

Does anyone have any experience or do this for a living any advice would be appreciated

Thanks
 
James Ian said:
I’m seriously considering buying a property to renovate and sell. I have no experience in this at all and don’t know where to start.

So far I’ve been researching online about mortgages and auctions and I’m going along to an auction next week just to get a feel for the process and hopefully meet a couple of people who do this.

I’m a qualified joiner so not new to the building aspect but completely out of my depth with everything else.

Does anyone have any experience or do this for a living any advice would be appreciated

Thanks
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Careful selection of property, setting a strict limit on purchase price and remembering you are doing it for profit when re-fitting are the keys to success. Do lots of research to make sure you buy a house that has enough headroom in the price for you to make a good return for the hours put in.
 
James Ian said:
So far I’ve been researching online about mortgages and auctions and I’m going along to an auction next week just to get a feel for the process and hopefully meet a couple of people who do this.
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Always, without fail, every single time, read, then re-read the legal pack for any auction properties. It is so easy to get caught out with something, and if you don't understand something 100% find out someone who can answer that question. Good luck, it is a long process the first time around. :)
 
Preview the property first - they’ll have an open day. Ideally do so with the help of someone who knows what to look for e.g. a surveyor or similar.

Know what your plan is at outset, e.g. renovate and sell, rather than let, or remortgage and buy another etc - and stick to it.

Get yourself a good mortgage broker, and explain explicitly that you’re buying at auction. You will probably only have 30 days to complete, and will need to provide a deposit within 24 hours.
 
The_Abyss said:
Preview the property first - they’ll have an open day. Ideally do so with the help of someone who knows what to look for e.g. a surveyor or similar.

Know what your plan is at outset, e.g. renovate and sell, rather than let, or remortgage and buy another etc - and stick to it.

Get yourself a good mortgage broker, and explain explicitly that you’re buying at auction. You will probably only have 30 days to complete, and will need to provide a deposit within 24 hours.
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Good advice, except you'll likely need to provide the deposit on the day. If you don't compete, said deposit is forfeit and you could be sued for breach of contract so make sure the proper finance arrangements are there!
 
if you are a joiner and have enough spare time to be doing this then i'd question how good you are at being a joiner tbh. you should be fully booked out for weeks as the demand is there.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
if you are a joiner and have enough spare time to be doing this then i'd question how good you are at being a joiner tbh. you should be fully booked out for weeks as the demand is there.
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Perhaps he is booked out for weeks, doesn't stop evening and weekend work does it? Some savage posts these last few days sonny, somebody upset you?
 
One of the things not mentioned so far is the state of the market, generally it’s a bit flat.

Some areas like London prices are decreasing, others are still increasing.

You need to look at what things are like in your local area. Look at sold prices, look at properties which are sold STC, look at what prices properties are coming to the market at and those that have been there for awhile.


The other thing is the elephant in the room that is Brexit. The market is likely to stagnate further as we move towards 31st October as it did coming up to 31st March. Who knows what will happen after.

What you don’t want to be is caught with a renovation project as prices are falling because there is a risk you’ll lose money. Likewise work could dry up if the economy takes a dive.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
if you are a joiner and have enough spare time to be doing this then i'd question how good you are at being a joiner tbh. you should be fully booked out for weeks as the demand is there.
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1 way thinking. So you not realise maybe he is fully booked and is just asking the question? On another hand what’s it got to do with you if he is fully booked or not *no insults*.

OP if you are going to auction you need to know your mortgage in principle value.

Find out about auction mortgages first.
 
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unless he is gas certified and can do electrics - he will be paying out money to other people.

maybe he has mates in the trade so could be okay but like i say. it's not exactly the type of question you ask on a PC shop forums.

if he's a joiner then he should know what his local market is like. he should know how much people are spending on upgrades to their houses and why.

if he's looking at run down properties they could be in areas nobody wants to move to which is why they are run down in the first place.

basically the answer just creates more questions which he should already know.

in terms of mortgage as it's an additional property does he know about the 3% more he needs to pay in stamp duty? so it will need to substantially increase the re-sale value for him to make any profit. then there is the interest as he will be buying as an investment so it's higher interest rates. the longer he has a mortgage the more interest he pays which means less profit. ideally he would need to be buying with a massive deposit or no mortgage at all.

how quickly can he renovate a full property that is run down? and for what cost? how much will it then sell for? these are all questions he should already know the answers too and we can't help him with.

basically if he doesn't know anything he should go away and do his own research. it's easier for him to make money just by doing jobs for other folk especially if he's good at it.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
unless he is gas certified and can do electrics - he will be paying out money to other people.

maybe he has mates in the trade so could be okay but like i say. it's not exactly the type of question you ask on a PC shop forums.

if he's a joiner then he should know what his local market is like. he should know how much people are spending on upgrades to their houses and why.

if he's looking at run down properties they could be in areas nobody wants to move to which is why they are run down in the first place.

basically the answer just creates more questions which he should already know.

in terms of mortgage as it's an additional property does he know about the 3% more he needs to pay in stamp duty? so it will need to substantially increase the re-sale value for him to make any profit. then there is the interest as he will be buying as an investment so it's higher interest rates. the longer he has a mortgage the more interest he pays which means less profit. ideally he would need to be buying with a massive deposit or no mortgage at all.

how quickly can he renovate a full property that is run down? and for what cost? how much will it then sell for? these are all questions he should already know the answers too and we can't help him with.

basically if he doesn't know anything he should go away and do his own research. it's easier for him to make money just by doing jobs for other folk especially if he's good at it.
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I don’t know why you feel it necessary to come in mob handed throwing your weight around.

You clearly have time on your hands with your lengthy response, but why the criticism of someone you clearly know nothing about? I assume this is the meaning of keyboard warrior?

I’m a full time joiner at present with a full diary until January 2020 looking to do this part time (evening &weekend) with a target of doing this full time for myself in a couple of years. (Early retirement plan)

I only asked if there was anyone on here who had done this before and if they could give us a steer in the right direction. If you have no useful input why bother commenting? Or you just after a bit of attention?

Thanks to everyone else who gave advice though it’s much appreciated. I’ve learned along the way there is always someone who has done what you’re about to do and they are the best source for relevant and useful info/tips etc
 
the biggest issue you will have is finding the right property where there is still some money to be made - you will find a lot of properties where you might get a deal are offered to buyers with an "in" with the agent so if it's on the open market it's likely someone commercially minded already can't make a flip or refurb/refinance stack up - not saying it's impossible given your skill set but it's not easy
 
The best advice you can get is go away and do your own research.

Even if someone else does the same on here it doesn't really matter. Their location might be up and coming therefore lots of money to be made in fixer uppers.

You need to know your local market to see how lucrative it could be.

FYI - My family owns over 30 properties out on rent. Some of them have been great others not so much. It depends a lot on the local market.
 
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